After Vitale sent his message out to his nearly 400,000 followers, calling the attendance “pathetic,” Longoria retweeted (forwarded) the message to his 140,000 followers, a move that is generally considered an endorsement of what is written.

And for the record I appreciate and love every fan that is in the stadium and supporting us.

Of course, this comment seems to imply that Longoria doesn’t love the fans that can’t show up or can’t afford to show up. Of course, maybe the comment is just poorly worded. But here is what Longoria had to say in 2010 after calling the attendance embarassing…

“…the one thing I do want to say is, for the fans that have been coming out, we are happy that they have been…That’s the one thing: Just moving forward from all this, and not looking back, we need to say ‘thank you’ to the fans that have been here throughout everything…The fans that have been here have been very supportive. That’s the biggest thing for me is just thanking those people.”

So to the people that live too far away and yet still put money in Longoria’s pocket by buying the MLB Extra Innings package, or MLB.tv, or that jersey and hat the MLB.com shop, or to the fans that would prefer to feed their children in this tough economic climate in the Tampa Bay area and just watch on TV helping to raise ratings and boost the Rays’ television revenue, Longo basically just told you to f*ck off and shut up.

OK, ok. Longoria isn’t telling people to f*ck off. But that is what a lot of fans heard. And I can’t blame them for being upset.

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30 Comments

This pisses me off. What does he expect to accomplish by saying anything at all? Does he think somebody is sitting at home reading his comment and thinking, "well, I wasn't going to go, but Longo thinks the attendance is pathetic, so now I think I'll show up."

Nobody said this last time. And nobody is saying it this time. All that will happen is now we have to put up with a bunch of stories on the attendance issue that are just going to say the same thing they always say.

Evidence is piling up on this "punk"....
His months off for "muscle strains", his automatic weapons kept for "recreation", Pot in his apartment(that is not his),the first time he approached another player for performance Upton almost bitch slapped him and he ran behind Maddon. the girl in every port that I guarantee you kept him out all night.... his super star .270 lifetime batting avg....
Now he dare tell Joe working stiff how he should spent his family's money...I'll tell you whats "pathetic" Longoria....look in the mirror,tell me what you see..its "punk" written all over....

Don, you hit it on the head, man!!! I was at the Trop on Mon. Where the F*ck was Longoria?!!! On the damn bench, man!! At least I paid to sit there watching that pathetic effort by the Rays, who STUNK against a pitcher w/a 3-10 record!!

And I have tix for 3 more games!! Games that were SUPPOSED TO MATTER!!! Only reason I'll stick w/my plans to go is to enjoy the company of friends joining me!!

In my opinion, the only Rays that have earned the right to call anything or anyone 'pathetic' are the members of the pitching staff!!! & they'd be talking to those on the team purported to carry the lumber, yet look more like toothpick toters!!!

OK, that does it! From now on, it's going to be "The Rays? And, exactly what are you talking about? Rays of sunshine? X-rays?" If you're talking about the 'we-can't-hit Rays' or 'we whine about stuff that doesn't matter Rays'? Then, I have no idea what you're talking about. For me to go to a game, it would cost a half tank of gas, dinner, tickets and disappointment. Sorry, I'm not a volunteer for wasting money and emotional energy. Whine all you want, I'm done with this team.

And the blame game begins...beginning with us fans. I never miss a game on TV or radio and attend as I can afford it. I personally have spent thousands in dental work this year. I am offended by Longo's remarks. I am passionate about my Rays. They have given me times of total excitement this year, but many disappointing times. They lost many close close games, some due to pathetic errors and many due to their lack of hitting. Unfortunately, fans are fickle and, when there is nothing to root for, they do not attend. The almighty Sux fans were absent as well; gee could that be because they are in the cellar this year? Come on man!

I'm assuming he was trying to get at the fact that him (as well as every other Rays player) enjoys playing in front of 30,000 like nearly half of the MLB franchises have this season. Pretty sure I remember him and Price making a comment similar to that in the last couple seasons. Honestly if I had to play 81 games a year in front of 15,000 empty seats every night, it would wear on me.

You hit it right on the head Drew. A few weeks back when the games did matter we couldn't muster more than 18,000 fans despite giving away savings bonds, gold teeth and Crawford's first born(ok a bit of an exaggeration). Bottom line is ball players are entertainers. If Pacino played on Broadway to a house 1/3 full night after night he'd quit and the show would close. Which is exactly what Longo, Price, Hellickson, and the rest of the young talented Rays will do when their contracts expire. Live entertainers thrive on enthusiastic fans. This area doesn't have enough of them. All this crap posted about Vitale, Longo, overpaid players just doesn't wash. I'd bet at least 20 major league cities would love to have this team.

Seriously CC, are you even able to see a 90 mph fastball, the fans would boo you right out of town. When's the last time you hit a doble in any baseball league? Longo's there because he's dedicated his life to being a MLB player. Pretty brash to suggest you cuould even sniff his jock strap.

Good point, with that kind of fan base we shouldn't have a team. I bet the twins would love to have our players and management. Fact remains that I attended all three Rangers games and there was nobody there. Everyone's pissed because Longo bailed on the fans. Fans bailed on the Rays way back in May.

Sorry Longo, but after busting my tail for 10-11 hours at work, I would rather go home and see my wife and two kids then see the Rays mail it in again. Be thankful for what you do have. You will never win by criticizing your fan base.

Hmmm, thanks for pointing this out, Cork. I'm not sure if I want to buy MLB.tv again next year. Because apparently I'm only a Rays fan if I buy season tickets and drive 1,200 miles round trip for 81 days of the year.

But then again, they're building a ballpark in Uptown Charlotte for the Charlotte Knights. Maybe that's the park the Rays have their eyes on. Then again, I doubt I would see them if they moved up here.

Im a fan who doesn't live near Tampa, but I don't take offense to the comments. Im kind of on board with Longo here. 11,000 against the Red Sox? I know the Red Sox bandwagon fans aren't there this year (I know, shocking). But this team really could have used a boost from the fans, showing their support and belief in the team after a awful road trip. And, combined with the atrocious pace of the Red Sox pitching, the attendence (or lack there of) seemed to just suck all the life out of the stadium and the team. Not saying that the fans are the cause (thats obvious) but I do think it could have helped.

Because the problem *IS* the bandwagon Red Sox fans. And Yankees fans. And fans from other teams from other parts of the country. The idea when the Rays first came to town was that these people would cheer for their hometown team (meaning where their current home is, not where they grew up). It's one thing if you retire down here and you have a 60- or 70-year history with a team. That would be hard to give up. But there are younger people who have moved down here, and their children are fans of other teams. That's what's killing the market, and that's what's killing the Rays. My own best friend grew up in upstate New York, and she won't relenquish her affinity for the Yankees because she has deep memories of sitting with her elderly grandfather (he was quite old when she was born, moreso than usual) watching the Yankees. She's not an avid sports fan, but she's missing out on a great opportunity to build those kinds of fond memories with her own children with their hometown team. And that's what gets me ... it's now possible for someone in Tampa to watch every Yankees game thanks to the MLB premium programming, and they don't ever HAVE to travel to Replica Yankees Stadium.

Oh, and if the Rays *REALLY* wanted fans to start going to the games, they'd stop airing all of the home games on local TV -- at least until attendance is maxed out. Since most of their revenue is coming from TV, that's not going to happen any time soon.

Thanks Longo for giving the jerkoffs on the four letter network more ammo to bash us with. You wonder why you don't have fans like the Yankees. I wonder why we don't have a team leader like Jeter? That guy is almost 40 yrs old still play'n his ass off limp'n around try'n to make the playoffs. Maybe if we would have gotten a little more of that from our allstar player this year we'd still be in the race. Let me guess if there'd been more fans @ the game you probably wouldn't have pulled your hammy.